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and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. new immigration laws are being enforced in arizona this morning. but, not the most controversial provision that sparked nationwide debate. and some angry protests. >> in a major victory for the obama administration, federal judge stepped in late on wednesday to block part of that law. arizona's governor says the state is immediately appealing. the latest straight ahead, including what vice president joe biden told ann curry in an exclusive interview. on a lighter note the countdown continues. we have exclusive new details on chelsea clinton's wedding. coming up, as you know, this weekend, including what kind of directions the couple's guests will be given. natalie will be live in rhinebeck, new york, the site of that wedding i think we can now safely say. >> plus the gals and guys of "jersey shore." you either love them or love to hate them. as you learned on tuesday, for the governor of new jersey, it's the latter. >> snooki and the situation, oh, come on. >> only so much a man can take, right? >> so how does the "jersey shore" cast feel about him? we're going to ask snooki and the gang coming up. i'm sure they'll have an opinion. let's begin with serious news. a federal judge's decision to strike down the highly controversial parts of arizona's immigration law. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has the very latest. good morning to you, pete. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. the judge did leave some parts of that laws intact, but she said arizona could not go ahead with what police statewide were prepared to start doing this morning, stepping up checks for illegal immigrants. immigrant groups cheered the ruling, calling it a victory for civil rights. it blocked a state law, due to go into effect this morning, that required police making arrests for traffic stops to check the immigration status of anyone they suspected was here illegally. those arrested were to be held until their legal status was verified. in an exclusive interview with nbc's ann curry, vice president joe biden said the ruling sends the right message. >> we don't think you can have 50 different immigration laws out there. we don't think you can have -- i think it actually is damaging, rather than helps enfirsting our immigration laws. >> reporter: judge susan bolden ruled that the arizona law would interfere with federal immigration law, which states are not allowed to do. she said it would require police to do so many more checks on people suspected of being here illegally, that it would overwhelm the federal government, diverting attention from catching criminals or potential terrorists. the judge also said it would lead to detention for people who are here legally, including u.s. citizens, while their immigration status was checked. arizona's governor, jan brewer, vowed to appeal and said the legal fight is far from over. >> obviously it's a little bump in the road, i believe. >> reporter: but legal scholars say given that the law has yet to be enforced, the state probably will not get quick legal results. >> the fact that the injunction preserves the status quo means that we won't see any immediate change. we won't see arizona at least having a strong argument that this has to be resolved overnight. >> reporter: for now, even though the law requiring checks for illegal immigrants is on hold, some arizona officials say police can still do those checks voluntarily. >> we arrest people every day for all types of violations. and if they're here illegally, we're going to take action. so really nothing has changed. >> reporter: the state's next stop is the federal court of appeals in san francisco, probably later today, and whoever loses there will almost certainly urge the u.s. supreme court to get involved. meredith? >> all right, pete williams, thank you very much. it is 7:04. here's matt. >> all right, meredith, thank you. now ann's exclusive interview with vice president joe biden. she caught up with him on wednesday. ann joins us now. >> thanks a lot, matt. good morning. the obama administration, as you know, in the middle of a planned drawdown that will reduce the number of u.s. troops in iraq to just 50,000 by the end of august. we caught up with vice president biden in upstate new york, where he was attending a homecoming for soldiers from the 10th mountain division, and we talked about the war, the economy, and we also asked him about the commitment of our troops. >> you don't really get it until you see these families. >> as these families are to see their sons and daughters and wives come home, can you guarantee in the wake of this withdrawal we're not going to see an explosion of sectarian violence? >> i can't guarantee anything. but i'm willing to bet everything. that there will be no such explosion. look, we'll still have 50,000 battle-tested combat troops in iraq who are going from leading combat to supporting the iraqi combat capability. and so i think neither i nor general order yarno or the pentagon or people on the ground think that is likely to happen. >> meantime the house on tuesday night agreed to fund a surge in afghanistan. $33 billion for 30,000 additional troops. but boy was there some reluctance. you've got democratic congressmen jim mcgovern saying, quote, we're told we can't extend unemployment or pay to keep cops on the beat or teachers in the classroom but we're asked to borrow another $33 billion for nation building in afghanistan. i think we need to do more nation building here at home. how long can we keep paying -- >> he's half right and half wrong. we're in afghanistan for one express purpose, al qaeda. the threat to the united states. al qaeda exists in those mountains between afghanistan and pakistan. we are not there to nation build. we're not out there deciding we're going to turn this into a jeffersonian democracy and build that country. we made it clear, we're not there for ten years. we are there to defeat al qaeda which is a clear and present danger to the united states. >> you know and i know that al qaeda is in pakistan. it is not -- >> it is. >> and we're not -- our attention is on afghanistan. if we're really trying to get al qaeda, why are we not in pakistan? >> ann, i don't want to skirt on things i'm not able to talk about publicly, because of the classification. but i assure you, we are doing significant damage to al qaeda in pakistan as well as in afghanistan. so we're making progress. we're making progress. but the truth of the matter is that there's more to go. >> i've got to ask you about this week, 90,000-plus documents, wikileaks. these documents indicate that your administration knew the names of people, specifically names of specific people in pakistan, in the government of pakistan, who were working with the taliban against u.s. interests who were hurting, risking american lives. yet at the same time, this administration gave pakistan billions of dollars for military and economic purposes. how do you justify -- >> easily. >> how? >> let me -- >> okay, sorry. i'm jumping on you. >> exactly. look all those links predate our policy. not one leak is consistent with the policy that was announced in december. what isn't happening, ann, there are not moneys being diverted from the public works and economic projects that are needed to sustain a democracy in pakistan, to the bad guys that exist within pakistan, and there's not money being diverted from the military purposes that are designed to deal with counterterrorism to those areas. the real shortcoming relates, and i don't want to get -- i'm getting very close to what i shouldn't be talking about, in terms of classification, but what was talked about with the intelligence community within the isi, that is sort of the cia of pakistan, that has been a problem in the past, it is a problem we're dealing with, and is changing. >> this administration is being criticized for not doing enough to grow jobs. >> yeah. >> there is, in some pockets of this country, a 20% unemployment rate. >> sure. >> has this administration done enough? >> let me put it this way, there's never enough until we restore the 8 million jobs lost in the bush recession. until that happens, it doesn't matter. i mean it matters, but it's not enough. look, i can tell you when you live in a household where dad or mom doesn't have a job, it is bleak. and all the promises in the world don't matter a lot until you get a job. >> so the people who are waiting, who are hungry, who are unemployed. people like the people from how you grew up, what's your message? >> my message is, keep the faith. we are moving in the right direction. we are not going to let you go without food or basic services. that will not happen in this country. and our administration. and secondly, we're creating new jobs that are going to be the kind you could raise your family on. >> and we have more from vice president biden later this morning as he speaks about the impact of his mother's death, and the stroke suffered by his son and how that has impacted him. >> look forward to that a little later in the program. ann curry, thanks very much. it's now ten minutes after the hour. here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. now to those vicious bear attacks near yellowstone. one man is dead, two others injured, after a bear or bears went on a rampage at a camp site. a montana fish wildlife and parks spokesman is with us on the phone. ron, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. >> we know about those bear attacks that one man was killed, two others injured, a man and a woman. what about their conditions this morning? what can you tell us? >> not sure how they're doing. i think they're going to be fine, though, meredith. injuries to the man, i think, to a leg, and from what we heard from the sheriff's dispatch and our crew, injuries to the arm of the woman. but, looks like they're going to recover completely. >> ron, i understand you got a call early wednesday morning that there had been a bear attack, and then about half an hour later you got another call. what do you believe happened there? >> well, we're not sure, meredith. except, in three different locations, within the same campground, very unusual, the first two attacks were about 100 yards apart. the third one was about a quarter of a mile away, where the fatality was. the interesting thing, no problems with food storage. which is a big deal in bear country. they'd done everything right. so looks like pretty much an unprovoked attack. we're still baffled. we're trying to figure things out. we have a response team on site that's been there since early morning yesterday, interviewing people, evaluating the site and the individuals, the victims for evidence to try to determine what did happen. >> i understand at this point you're treating this like a criminal investigation, with the bear or bears being the criminals. can you talk to me about that? >> well, i wouldn't call them criminals. but certainly we're wanting to do all we can to catch the bear or bears that were 1r068ed. we have traps set in the area. we go in with highly-trained professional team that we have that's a response team, as i said. they'll scour the site for evidence, dna evidence, everything from bear hair to bear scat. they'll interview the victims, take things like teeth marks from the victims. if we do catch a bear, we use that information to confirm whether or not the bear that was trapped was involved in the attacks. >> but, ron, how likely is it that you would catch the bear or bears? i mean this is a hublg area we're talking about. >> typically they'll return to the site when they're involved in something like this. that's not always the case. it could take a couple evenings and we may never catch the bear. but, typically, we have pretty good success. >> and at this point, i assume the campground is closed? >> yeah, this campground is closed, as are other two campgrounds in the area. human safety, obviously, is the concern now. people have been evacuated and the area has been posted. >> there are plenty of campgrounds that we main open, however. what advice would you give to campers out there who may now be very anxious? >> well, the first thing is you just need to be aware, if there have been any alerts, if there have been bears in the area. although in that country, it is bear country. the big thing is the way you handle yourself in a campground as far as food storage. there are bear containers that are bear-proof in some of those areas. you don't want to cook in the area immediately around your campsite. that's really the big thing. meredith, this is so rare, we kind of -- it's somewhat like a lightning strike that hits a human. we just don't have a bear fatalities very often. >> and as you pointed out, ron, the scary thing is these people apparently had done nothing wrong. they'd done everything right and still these bears attacked. >> yeah, it's a real rare and unusual circumstance. we'll find out more if we catch the bear to see if there was an injury to the bear, or a sickness. just don't know a lot of things yet, obviously. >> all right, ron aasheim, thank you and good luck. >> thank you. >> very scary. >> seems like they're taking all the right steps. let's get a check of the rest of the top stories. ann has now made the long commute from here to there to the other part of the studio. >> all right, matt and meredith, good morning. good morning again, everybody. in the news, firefighters are gaining ground in their battle against southern california's wildfires that have chased thousands of people from their homes. the worst of the fires in the hills north of los angeles were 25% contained by last night. it started on tuesday and destroyed at least 25 houses. investigators are looking into wednesday's cargo air crash and military officials are saying it is unlikely the four crew members on a training mission were able to survive. a medical helicopter crashed and burst into flames wednesday in a residential neighborhood of tucson. the pilot, a nurse and a paramedic were killed but nobody on the ground was hurt. toyota announced this morning it is recalling more than 400,000 toyota avalon passenger cars in the u.s. for steering problems. meantime, overseas markets were mixed overnight with cnbc's melissa lee at the new york stock exchange with more on this. hey, melissa, good morning. >> good morning to you, ann. jobs and earnings will be in focus this morning with investors poring over weekly jobless claims data and quarterly results from the likes of exxon mobil. meantime the e-reader wars are heating up with amazon set to launch two new versions of the kindle. one will be $139 and will run only on wi-fi network. both versions will hit the market august 27th. apple has been a major competitor to amazon with its ipad which some analysts have called the kindle killer. 3.3 million ipads have been sold in just the first three months of its existence. ann? >> melissa lee this morning. thanks. and finally now, a rare public appearance by former first lady nancy reagan. she joined california governor arnold schwarzenegger wednesday as he signed a bill proclaiming next february 6th ronald reagan day. that date marks the late president's 100th birthday. she looks very pleased. it is now 7:16. let's go back to matt, meredith and al. >> talk about a true love affair that those two had. something special. >> ann, thanks very much. mr. roker is here with the first check of the weather. >> that's right. as we take a look out west, the fire is taking place, we are looking at sunny continues atta hatchpy. 91. the winds are going to start gusting up to 22 miles per hour. friday, sunny hot and 93 degrees. then as we take a look, we've got a risk of strong storms back good morning, it is hazy and humid around the washington metro area. in fact throughout the entire region, we're in the 70s from t atlantic beaches, we're 80 right near the bay. highs reaching low and mid 90s this afternoon. noon to 6:00 p.m. we could get passing thunderstorms and late afternoon, some storm could produce damaging winds. low humidity in place later tonight and into friday and saturday with cooler temperatures. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. as much as 200 million gallons of oil gushed out of that leak in the gulf before a temporary cap stopped the flow nearly two weeks ago. now, crews are struggling to find the oil on the surface of the water. so, where did it all go? nbc's lisa myers is in new orleans this morning. lisa, good morning to you. >> hey, matt, good morning. we spent ten hours out over the gulf over the last few days and found only isolated patches of oil on the surface. but scientists say there is still plenty of oil out there. and they remain greatly concerned about the continuing damage to the environment, and to wildlife. we went out to track the oil with pilot bonnie shumaker, a committed environmentalist. who has been out over the oil almost daily since mid-may. >> every day there's less and less to see. >> there was thick oil as far as the eye could see. now we find occasional blotches of orange. >> we're having trouble finding patches of oil. that doesn't mean we're not going to stay prepared until the flow is killed. >> reporter: but as we traveled offed southern coast of louisiana on wednesday, it didn't take us long to find oil. >> we are six miles off louisiana and are beginning to see significant fingers of crude oil, both on and underneath the water. streaks of emulsified crude bleeding into the water. surrounded by oil sheen. the strands of oil are heading toward an island, and there are no response vessels. at another location, there is even more oil. rows and rows of it. here there are skimmers. where has the rest of the oil gone? experts say it's evaporated and been eaten by microbes. but there's hundreds of thousands of barrels still lurking in the water. >> we should continue to worry about the oil that may be in the flow, and the oil that's in the water but below the surface. >> reporter: and experts say worry about how all that oil, mixed with an unprecedented 1.8 million gallons of dispersants, sim pacting birds and marine animals. what have you observed about what's happening to wildlife? >> well, i'm seeing much less of it. and i'm seeing none of it where i would like to see it. >> reporter: more than 3,500 pelicans, sea turtles and other wildlife have been found dead. on our journey we saw some flocks of birds, but not as many as usual. even in their favorite nesting grounds. even though the oil is now largely out of sight, government officials say it could keep washing up on the beaches for weeks. and scientists warn, matt, that it could be years before we know the full environmental impact. >> all right, lisa, thank you very much. that's lisa myers in new orleans for us this morning. just ahead, for nearly a week she believed her daughter had been killed in a tragic accident. turns out she actually survived. there had been a mix-up at the hospital. that mom speaks out in a live interview. but first, these messages. coming up, he exclusive new details about chelsea clinton's wedding, which is now just two, count them, two days away. natalie is live at the site of the big affair. we're going to catch up with snooki and the rest of the "jersey shore" gang after your local news. good morning to you, 7:26, on this thursday, july 29, 2010. things are getting back to normal after sunday's storms. but the outage numbers are -- three montgomery county schools have canceled all schools today because of a lack of power. we're going the take a break and come back and look good morning, it's warm and humid on this thursday morning. climbing into the low and mid 90s later today. and a risk of a passing storm